Psalm 128:2
New International Version
You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.

New Living Translation
You will enjoy the fruit of your labor. How joyful and prosperous you will be!

English Standard Version
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

Berean Standard Bible
For when you eat the fruit of your labor, blessings and prosperity will be yours.

King James Bible
For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

New King James Version
When you eat the labor of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.

New American Standard Bible
When you eat the fruit of the labor of your hands, You will be happy and it will go well for you.

NASB 1995
When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, You will be happy and it will be well with you.

NASB 1977
When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, You will be happy and it will be well with you.

Legacy Standard Bible
When you shall eat of the fruit of the labor of your hands, How blessed will you be and how well will it be for you.

Amplified Bible
For you shall eat the fruit of [the labor of] your hands, You will be happy and blessed and it will be well with you.

Christian Standard Bible
You will surely eat what your hands have worked for. You will be happy, and it will go well for you.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
You will surely eat what your hands have worked for. You will be happy, and it will go well for you.

American Standard Version
For thou shalt eat the labor of thy hands: Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

Contemporary English Version
Your fields will produce, and you will be happy--all will go well.

English Revised Version
For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
You will certainly eat what your own hands have provided. Blessings to you! May things go well for you!

Good News Translation
Your work will provide for your needs; you will be happy and prosperous.

International Standard Version
You will eat from the work of your hands; you will be happy, and it will go well for you.

Majority Standard Bible
For when you eat the fruit of your labor, blessings and prosperity will be yours.

NET Bible
You will eat what you worked so hard to grow. You will be blessed and secure.

New Heart English Bible
For you will eat the labor of your hands; you will be blessed, and it will be well with you.

Webster's Bible Translation
For thou shalt eat the labor of thy hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

World English Bible
For you will eat the labor of your hands. You will be happy, and it will be well with you.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
You surely eat the labor of your hands, "" You [are] blessed, and good [is] to you.

Young's Literal Translation
The labour of thy hands thou surely eatest, Happy art thou, and good is to thee.

Smith's Literal Translation
For thou shalt eat the labor of thy hands: happy thou, and well to thee.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
For thou shalt eat the labours of thy hands: blessed art thou, and it shall be well with thee.

Catholic Public Domain Version
For you will eat by the labors of your hands. Blessed are you, and it will be well with you.

New American Bible
What your hands provide you will enjoy; you will be blessed and prosper:

New Revised Standard Version
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
For you shall eat the labour of your hands; happy shall you be, and it shall be well with you.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
You are happy, oh man, when you will eat the toil of your hands and it is a blessing to your soul!
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
When thou eatest the labour of thy hands, Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Thou shalt eat the labours of thy hands: blessed art thou, and it shall be well with thee.
Audio Bible



Context
Blessed Are All who Walk in His Ways
1A song of ascents. Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in His ways! 2For when you eat the fruit of your labor, blessings and prosperity will be yours. 3Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table.…

Cross References
Proverbs 14:23
There is profit in all labor, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

Ecclesiastes 3:13
and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.

Isaiah 3:10
Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.

Proverbs 12:14
By fruitful speech a man is filled with good things, and the work of his hands returns to him.

Proverbs 13:2
From the fruit of his lips a man enjoys good things, but the desire of the faithless is violence.

Isaiah 65:21-22
They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. / No longer will they build houses for others to inhabit, nor plant for others to eat. For as is the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, and My chosen ones will fully enjoy the work of their hands.

Jeremiah 31:5
Again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the farmers will plant and enjoy the fruit.

Deuteronomy 28:4-5
The fruit of your womb will be blessed, as well as the produce of your land and the offspring of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. / Your basket and kneading bowl will be blessed.

Deuteronomy 28:11-12
The LORD will make you prosper abundantly—in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land—in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. / The LORD will open the heavens, His abundant storehouse, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but borrow from none.

Leviticus 26:4-5
I will give you rains in their season, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. / Your threshing will continue until the grape harvest, and the grape harvest will continue until sowing time; you will have your fill of food to eat and will dwell securely in your land.

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you. / Then you will behave properly toward outsiders, without being dependent on anyone.

2 Thessalonians 3:10-12
For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.” / For we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives, accomplishing nothing, but being busybodies. / We command and urge such people by our Lord Jesus Christ to begin working quietly to earn their own living.

Ephesians 4:28
He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing good with his own hands, that he may have something to share with the one in need.

Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, as for the Lord and not for men, / because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.


Treasury of Scripture

For you shall eat the labor of your hands: happy shall you be, and it shall be well with you.

thou shalt eat

Genesis 3:19
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Deuteronomy 28:4,11,39,41
Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep…

Judges 6:3-6
And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; …

and it shall

Ecclesiastes 8:12
Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:

Isaiah 3:10
Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

Jeremiah 22:15
Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?

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Blessings Eat Eatest Fruit Good Hands Happy Labor Prosperity Surely Work
Psalm 128
1. The various blessings which follow those who fear God














For when you eat
This phrase suggests a direct and personal experience of sustenance and provision. In the Hebrew context, eating is not merely a physical act but a symbol of God's provision and blessing. The Hebrew word for "eat" is "אָכַל" (akal), which often implies satisfaction and enjoyment. In ancient Israel, meals were communal and sacred, reflecting God's covenantal faithfulness. Eating was a time to remember God's goodness and to share in His abundance.

the fruit of your labor
The "fruit of your labor" signifies the results of one's hard work and diligence. The Hebrew word for "fruit" is "פְּרִי" (peri), which denotes produce or yield. This phrase emphasizes the biblical principle of sowing and reaping, where diligent work leads to tangible rewards. In the agrarian society of ancient Israel, this would have been understood as a direct blessing from God, who provides the increase. It underscores the dignity of work and the divine partnership in human endeavors.

blessings and prosperity
This phrase encapsulates the outcome of living in accordance with God's ways. "Blessings" in Hebrew is "בְּרָכָה" (berakah), which means a gift or favor from God. "Prosperity" is translated from "טוֹב" (tov), meaning good or well-being. Together, they convey a holistic sense of well-being that encompasses spiritual, physical, and material aspects. In the biblical worldview, true prosperity is not merely wealth but includes peace, health, and joy, reflecting a life aligned with God's purposes.

will be yours
This concluding phrase assures the recipient of God's promises. The certainty of "will be" in Hebrew is often implied through context, emphasizing the reliability of God's word. "Yours" personalizes the promise, indicating that these blessings are not abstract but intended for the individual who walks in God's ways. It reflects the covenant relationship between God and His people, where obedience leads to divine favor and fulfillment. This assurance is a source of hope and encouragement for believers, affirming that God's promises are trustworthy and personal.

(2) For thou.--The Hebrew by the position of the particle is more emphatic:

"For it is the labour of thine hands thou shalt eat."

(See Note, Psalm 116:10.) This picture of a successful and peaceful husbandry, which itself throws a whole flood of light on the condition of Palestine and of the people, now not nomadic but agricultural, is rendered still more emphatic by references to the numerous passages where it is foretold that enemies would devour the harvests (Deuteronomy 28:30-33; Leviticus 26:16).

Happy.--The same word translated blessed in Psalm 128:1. . . .

Verse 2. - For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands. This is the first point of the "blessedness." God's faithful servant shall enjoy the fruits of his own industry, and not have them devoured by strangers (comp. Deuteronomy 28:33; Leviticus 26:16; Psalm 109:11). Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee; rather, happy thou, and well is it with thee (comp. Deuteronomy 33:29).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
For
כִּ֣י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

when you eat
תֹאכֵ֑ל (ṯō·ḵêl)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 398: To eat

the fruit
כַּ֭פֶּיךָ (kap·pe·ḵā)
Noun - fdc | second person masculine singular
Strong's 3709: Hollow or flat of the hand, palm, sole (of the foot), a pan

of your labor,
יְגִ֣יעַ (yə·ḡî·a‘)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3018: Toil, a work, produce, property

blessings
אַ֝שְׁרֶ֗יךָ (’aš·re·ḵā)
Interjection | second person masculine singular
Strong's 835: Happiness, interjection, how happy!

and prosperity
וְט֣וֹב (wə·ṭō·wḇ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2896: Pleasant, agreeable, good

will be yours.
לָֽךְ׃ (lāḵ)
Preposition | second person feminine singular
Strong's Hebrew


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OT Poetry: Psalm 128:2 For you will eat the labor (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 128:1
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